Sketch

The sketch and shot layout given to me by the director. The old bunkbed in the foreground will be a separate asset for multi-plane camera purposes, so I'll be painting the room without it for a while.

Perspective Sketch

I brought the file into Fire Alpaca so I could figure out the perspective lines and floor grid. Even though the room's final structure/style will be irregular and disorderly, this helps me get a sense of the space.

Rough Colors

Back to Photoshop now. This is my favorite part of the process! I've used a textured rectangle brush to lay down the base colors. Lighting adjustments were made with a soft round brush and different blend layers.

Painting

I've started to refine the base of the room. I'm mostly using the textured rectangle brush at ~70% opacity, and then blending manually or with the help of a soft round brush. What's shown here is all on one layer.

Painting

Finished up the room. If I had a bit more time, I would have refined the peeling wallpaper a bit more.

Details And Light Effects

Added the stars back and refined them. I used a screen layer and soft brush for the light beams and glow.

Details

I added the piles of junk to the room. The one in the foreground was newly painted in. The others farther in the room were reused and modified from an earlier painting I did. I also adjusted the stars so they fit with the lighting a bit better.

Final Piece

Finished the background by bringing back and refining the bunkbed. Hm. I probably could have spent a bit more time refining the metal bars. :T There's maybe a bit too much contrast going on for a large foreground framing element. I might go back and fix a couple things in the future, but for now I need to keep moving along haha :P

waytooemily Here's my attempt to summarize the film: In a universe where everyone fears the dark, lights keep a city suspended in a late afternoon haze. Two siblings embark on a quest to rediscover the stars!
This location is at the beginning of the film, so I'm glad it establishes that nostalgic feeling. c:

I really like the lighting and atmosphere. Like many artists, backgrounds are often a weakness for me, so it's really helpful/awesome to see what goes into a well conceived and executed background illustration!

marshmallowjelly Thanks! I still struggle with pieces involving characters in a background since the characters tend to steal my focus. ;v; Concentrating on just the background aspect has been very refreshing.